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Developers and Users

"Let's face it, Linux and OSS in general have been very developer-driven.

"Corporate interests have helped to temper that in recent years by expressing the need, with dollars and people, for little things like usability, little things that end users might notice, but, in OSS-land, developers remain king. "

If OSS is developer-driven as opposed to user-driven, then the current monopoly-dominated closed-source market is vendor driven as opposed to customer driven.

OSS, especially open file formats that level the playing field on the desktop, wrenches that market loose from the grip single Monopolistic Software vendors hold.

We have had many years of single-vendor customer disservice. OSS is no guarantee of better service, but it seems to be the only way to force corporations to play on a level field. And the choices users will have from the resulting competition will eventually force OSS developers and closed-source vendors alike to address customer needs rather than only personal whim or corporate profits.